Today, I presented my final Wood Badge ticket, a Whittling Chip in a Day program. As a Bear den leader, it’s something I planned a year ago when I was writing my plan as I wanted to take the time to give focus and repetition to what was being done, particularly all the safety issues. I also thought this would be a great way to have Webelos and AOLs earn their chip who were joining after the Bear year, particularly our new girl Cubs. However, they all did it before today so it was just four of my Bears for the program.

I was pleased that it mostly went off without a hitch. The soap carvings left a lot to be desired (I also somehow didn’t bother to scale the patterns I printed to fit the bars, something I was able to correct thankfully using the printer I donated to our Cub camp last year). The Ivory soap worked great (as recommended by more than one Scouter). Rather than toothpicks, I found these nail tools at Walmart’s beauty section (for under $2 a pack) that worked great to help trace the patterns and draw designs in the soap. As I have a son with fine motor delays, the thickness of these tools beat out a toothpick to allow him control over the carving and design.

My favorite part though was our first aid chat. Since we were going to be working with knives, I had incorporated putting together a mini first aid kit to be used during the program. Back in November, I had read where another leader, ‎Antoinette Martine Torres, had done mini first aid kits designed after Beymax from Big Hero 6. I loved the idea, so I added it to my Whittling Chip in a Day program. The kids loved the suckers almost as much as the patches. I was, however, quite pleased with myself on procuring the bandaid packs (which came with little tiny packets of burn cream inside). Anytime I can attend an expo where swag is being given away, I’m always looking for items for the Cubs (a Scout is thrifty). I met a rep for WellCare at a program a week ago, and she filled me a plastic bag full of these bandaid kits when I explained what I was doing; it felt like winning the lottery.

I also administered a quiz I found through Scouter Mom’s website. This became a very big conversation starter as sadly, our Cubs were not all aware that if they took their pocketknife to school, they would be in trouble. It was about 15 minutes of trying to explain why, what would happen, and reiterating over and over that the knives never, ever go to school with them. The quiz is repetitive, but it really helps to get the safety points across.

You can download my full program in PDF. I have handouts in there that you may want to actually blow up and make poster size instead so it’s easier for the Cubs to read. The program took two hours to deliver, about 30 minutes to set up, and a good bit of time cleaning up soap shavings.

Download Whittling Chip in a Day Program

Additional Resources

• Certification Tracking Form
• Knife Safety Quiz
• Tips for teaching Scouts how to sharpen a knife
• MeritBadge.org Whittling Chip Course
• Pocketknife Safety Quiz